FRESNO, Calif. -- One of boxing's rising stars will be back in the ring on July 7 when he defends his WBC junior welterweight world title. That rising star is Jose Ramirez (22-0, 16 KOs) and he will be making the first defense of his title, taking on Danny O'Connor (30-3, 11 KOs) on ESPN.
Ramirez is a 25-year-old fighter who plies his trade out of the orthodox stance. The California native fights behind a stiff jab and a tight guard, the jab setting up the rest of his offense and the tight guard allowing him to avoid too much punishment. Along with his jab he has a very strong right hand and a thudding left hook and he likes to go to the body. Ramirez is an aggressive fighter and likes to be the one coming forward, but he doesn't often get overaggressive and he loves to finish an opponent when he has him hurt.
Ramirez is already a star in southern California and his star is rising across the country. He has been perfect as a professional and has shown a good mix of power and skills. His social awareness and outspokenness on issue's he's passionate about has also gained him national attention. Fighting under the Top Rank banner, Ramirez was brought along and a nice pace and his last two opponent's were the toughest of his career. Those opponents were Mike Reed and Amir Imam. Ramirez knocked Reed out in the second round and won a decisive decision against Imam in early 2018. That win over Imam is what earned Ramirez his first title, a title he won't want to give up against O'Connor.
O'Connor is a 33-year-old southpaw who will be at a serious disadvantage against Ramirez. Not only is Ramirez younger but he's also the bigger puncher and has a 2-inch height advantage along with a 5-inch reach advantage. O'Connor isn't a very busy puncher and he'll be fine with letting Ramirez take the lead. He likes to work behind his jab and will often follow it with his best punch, a straight left hand. While O'Connor will also throw a right hook it isn't a great one and he lacks the power to do much damage with any one punch. Defensively O'Connor isn't great and he has been down numerous times and might be best known for being put to sleep by Gabriel Bracero in the first round of their 2015 fight. That knockout ended up being Big Time Boxing's Knockout of the Year.
There are plenty of names in the junior welterweight division that fans would have loved to see in the ring with Ramirez. Unfortunately, O'Connor isn't one of them. He's currently ranked fifteenth by the WBC, making it surprising he's even getting this title shot. He has been on a hot streak as of late though, going 4-0 with one knockout since his last loss. However, he was dropped in his most recent fight and having a weak chin against a fighter like Ramirez won't do him any favors.
Simply put, it would be a shocking upset if O'Connor won this fight. Nearly every disadvantage one fighter can have against another O'Connor has against Ramirez. Look for O'Connor to led Ramirez lead and try to shoot jabs and stay on the balls of his feet. O'Connor will probably look to stay on the outside and counter the more aggressive Ramirez but with his chin the fight could end at any time. Expect Ramirez to be his typical self. He should be aggressive and look to walk O'Connor down as he breaks him down with punches upstairs and to the body. Ramirez should be especially dangerous in this fight because he won't have to worry too much about return fire from O'Connor.
PREDICTION: This fight is going to be all Jose Ramirez. Danny O'Connor will do everything he can to win this one but it won't be nearly enough. The best round for O'Connor is this fight will be the opening round and it will be in trouble after that. Ramirez is going to methodically break him down on his way to a fifth round stoppage win.
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| Ramirez catching Amir Imam with a right hand |
Ramirez is already a star in southern California and his star is rising across the country. He has been perfect as a professional and has shown a good mix of power and skills. His social awareness and outspokenness on issue's he's passionate about has also gained him national attention. Fighting under the Top Rank banner, Ramirez was brought along and a nice pace and his last two opponent's were the toughest of his career. Those opponents were Mike Reed and Amir Imam. Ramirez knocked Reed out in the second round and won a decisive decision against Imam in early 2018. That win over Imam is what earned Ramirez his first title, a title he won't want to give up against O'Connor.
O'Connor is a 33-year-old southpaw who will be at a serious disadvantage against Ramirez. Not only is Ramirez younger but he's also the bigger puncher and has a 2-inch height advantage along with a 5-inch reach advantage. O'Connor isn't a very busy puncher and he'll be fine with letting Ramirez take the lead. He likes to work behind his jab and will often follow it with his best punch, a straight left hand. While O'Connor will also throw a right hook it isn't a great one and he lacks the power to do much damage with any one punch. Defensively O'Connor isn't great and he has been down numerous times and might be best known for being put to sleep by Gabriel Bracero in the first round of their 2015 fight. That knockout ended up being Big Time Boxing's Knockout of the Year.
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| O'Connor working the body of his opponent |
Simply put, it would be a shocking upset if O'Connor won this fight. Nearly every disadvantage one fighter can have against another O'Connor has against Ramirez. Look for O'Connor to led Ramirez lead and try to shoot jabs and stay on the balls of his feet. O'Connor will probably look to stay on the outside and counter the more aggressive Ramirez but with his chin the fight could end at any time. Expect Ramirez to be his typical self. He should be aggressive and look to walk O'Connor down as he breaks him down with punches upstairs and to the body. Ramirez should be especially dangerous in this fight because he won't have to worry too much about return fire from O'Connor.
PREDICTION: This fight is going to be all Jose Ramirez. Danny O'Connor will do everything he can to win this one but it won't be nearly enough. The best round for O'Connor is this fight will be the opening round and it will be in trouble after that. Ramirez is going to methodically break him down on his way to a fifth round stoppage win.
IT WILL BE A THREE JUDGE DECISION FOR RAM...TWO KNOCK DOWNS BUT O"
ReplyDeleteWILL GO ALL THE WAY,,